Yesterday was interesting

Posted Friday, March 13, 2009, at 7:52 PM

We had a second opinion puppy come in that I'm not sure I should talk about but it's such an interesting case. I'm keeping names to myself so as not to embarrass anybody. This poor dog had been having digestive problems for a month. Well, we did a diagnostic workup- x-rays, blood work, exam and only found a solid mass in the intestines. Since we were unsure what the mass was we asked the owner who thought the dog may have eaten a walnut. The x-rays didn't show anything as dense as a walnut. So, we did an exploratory surgery. The mass wasn't hard to find. We opened up that section of the intestine to find not a walnut but the knot from a rope bone. Unfortunately that section was so fragile from being stretched out that we couldn't suture it closed and had to remove that section of interesting (4 inches).

It's quite an experience standing there holding open intestines in such a way that you don't let the contents near any other part of the internal organs, while the doctor sutures them together. The first time I did this my hands shook, my shoulders cramped up and I was so excited. This time was less stressful. I knew what to expect and I stayed relaxed. My hands were still shaky because I was there for 20 minutes or longer. My feet complained the most. I've been on concrete for 13 years and I prefer not to stand in one place longer than five minutes.

Today, she's eating, waging her tail and looking much healthier. I love days like these. Especially since this dog is one of the friendliest, sweetest dogs I've ever met. I wish all dogs and people could be so open minded.

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Update:

A week later she came back in with a similar problem, this time it was a sock. No surgery involved.

Today, have another dog with similar issues. Namely indigestion of lawn furniture padding. At the moment, no surgery. We'll see how she progresses.

What should you take from this? Be very careful of what you allow you're puppies access to. Be it their toys, garden hose, golf & tennis balls, chocolate, bic lighters, whatever. Labrador Retrievers are like goat's. They'll eat anything.